The Workbench Transformation

I was just so excited to get started on the workbench transformation as soon as I got the Martha Stewart paint home from Home Depot.  I had an image starting in my head how I wanted it to look, and just how I was going to do it. 
So, I made a drop cloth out of the extra moving blankets we had after the big move to California, and got to work. 

It took alot of sanding.  Hunnie originally made this bench to fit inside a closet at a Doctor's office to hold heavy equipment.  It would be hidden, so it wasn't exactly "finished".  There were lots of places that would have been impossible to paint properly without lots of sanding.  I wasn't thrilled with the amount of time it took, but I was determined......so I used sanding sponges first, sanding paper second, and then I was ready to go!

This took awhile.  Quite awhile, actually.  But I've been known to be a little stubborn, (really?) and I wasn't going to let this project get the best of me.....

When I was done painting, I sanded again.  I sanded the corners and edges down to the wood with a purpose in mind.

I love the distressed look on most things wood.  It just pleases me.  So, I mixed a little of Plaid's Glazing Medium into some Asphaltum Folk Art Artists' Pigment color, worked with small areas of the bench, and worked quickly, to give it a nice distressed look. 

I used a clean rag to wipe the color away and left it only where I wanted it to be.  When it was dry, I rubbed the entire surface with a piece of brown paper bag I ripped into workable-sized pieces and wrinkled up.  This left a nice, smooth surface for the painting I wanted to decorate the table with.

Then I gathered supplies of some of my favorite Folk Art paints and brushes and got to work again! 

This is what I came up with to decorate the left corner of the table.  I also painted a swag of the same design in the center, along the top edge of the table. 
Hunnie has ordered a piece of glass to fit the top of the table, so I can keep the painting "fresh as a daisy", and craft away to my heart's content on it every day!  One last pic......

Here it is!  In front of the big, beautiful windows in the craft room.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out! Those windows let in so much natural light all day long, I love it.  But I've been wondering how they would look with a little Gallery Glass design added to them....hmmm.....